"I will call the Global Reference Currency (GRC) the generic concept of a currency which is not tied to any particular nation state, and whose main purpose is to provide a stable and reliable reference currency for international contracts and trade.
Furthermore, I will propose as unit of account for one particular type of GRC the Terra, which aims at firmly anchoring that currency to the material/physical world. Remember, one of the reasons that the global currency casino can churn as wildly as it does is the disconnection between the financial world and physical reality, a link which was severed by President Nixon in 1971. In this role, the Terra would be akin to the gold standard in the 19th century. The Terra is defined as a standard basket of commodities and services particularly important for international trade, and their relative weight in the standard basket would ideally reflect their relative importance in global trade.
For instance, the value of the Terra could be defined as:
1 Terra = 1/10 barrel of oil (for example Brent quality and delivery)
+ 1 bushel of wheat (Chicago Mercantile Exchange delivery)
+ 2 pounds of copper (London Metal Exchange delivery)
+ ...etc.
+ 1/100 ounce of gold (New York delivery)"
'The Future of Money' by Bernard Lietaer.

Green Books

Green Books is a small independent publishing company, whose aim is to inform and inspire the general reader about ecological, spiritual and cultural issues of our time.

• Alexander, Gary: 'eGaia, Growing a
  peaceful, sustainable Earth through communications'
  Lighthouse Books,2002.
  ISBN 0907637248
  more
  

• Beatley, Timothy: 'Green Urbanism, Learning from European Cities'
  Island Press, 2000.
  

• Bello, Walden/Bullsrd, Nicola/Malhotra, Kamal: 'Global Finance, New Thinking on Regulating Speculative Capital Markets'
  Zed Books, 2000.
  

• Boyle, David: 'Why London Needs Its Own Currency'
  NEF Pocketbook, 2000.
  ISBN 1-899407-27-8
  

• Brown, Lester R/Flavin, Christopher/French, Hilary and others: 'State of the World 2001'
  The Worldwatch Institute, 2001.
  ISBN 0-393-32082-0
  

• Bruges, James: 'The Little Earth Book'
  Alastair Sawday Publishing Co. Ltd, 2000.
  ISBN 1-901970-23-X
  

• Bunzl, John:
  'The Simultaneous Policy - An Insider's Guide to Saving Humanity and the Planet'
  With Foreword by Diana Schumacher.
  New European Publications, 2001.
  ISBN 1-872410-20-0
  more
  

• Capra, Fritjof : 'The Hidden Connections'
  HarperCollins, 2001 .
  ISBN 0006551580
  more
  

• Douthwaite, Richard: 'Short Circuit'
  Green Books, 1996.
  ISBN 1-870098-64-1
  more
  

• Douthwaite, Richard: 'The Ecology of Money'
  A Schumacher Briefing published by Green Books on behalf of The Schumacher Society, 1999.
  ISBN 1-870098-81-1
  more
  

• Douthwaite, Richard: 'The Growth Illusion. How Economic Growth has Enriched the Few, Impoverished the Many and Endangered the Planet.'
  The Lilliput Press Ltd, 2000 (revised edition).
  ISBN 1-901866-32-7
  more
  

• Douthwaite, Richard/Jopling, John: 'FEASTA Review.'
  Green Books Ltd, 2001.
  ISBN 0-9540510-0-9
  Ekins, Paul/Hillman, Mayer/Hutchinson, Robert: 'The Gaia Atlas of Green Economics'
  Anchor Books, 1992.
  ISBN 0-385-41914-7
  

• Elkington, John/Hailes, Julia: 'The New Foods Guide'
  Orion Books Ltd, 1999.
  ISBN 0-575-06806-X
  

• Girardet, Herbert: 'Creating Sustainable Cities'
  A Schumacher Briefing published by Green Books on behalf of The Schumacher Society.
  ISBN 1-870098-77-3 more
  

• Girardet, Herbert : 'The Gaia Atlas of Cities. New directions of sustainable urban living'
  Gaia Books, 1992.
  ISBN 1-85675-065-5
  

• Goldsmith Edward/Mander Jerry: 'The Case Against the Global Economy, & for a turn towards localization'
  Earthscan, 2001.
  ISBN 1-85383-742-3
  

• Hassed, Mark: 'The Prosperity Paradox. The Economic Wisdom of Henry George - Rediscovered'
  Chatsworth Village, 2000.
  ISBN 1-876677-73-2
  

• Hawken, Paul/Lovins, Amory B/Lovins, L Hunter: 'Natural Capitalism. The Next Industrial Revolution.'
  Earthscan 1999.
  more
  

• Hines, Colin: 'Localization. A Global Manifesto'
  Earthscan Publications Ltd, 2000.
  ISBN 1-85383-612-5
  more
  

• Huber, Joseph/Robertson, James: 'Creating New Money. A monetary reform for the information age'
  New Economics Foundation, 2001.
  ISBN 1-899407-29-4
  

• Jopling, John: 'London. Pathways to the Future'
  Published by the Sustainable London Trust, 2000.
  ISBN 0-9537680-0-7
  more
  

• Keen, Steve: 'Debunking Economics. The Naked Emperor of the Social Sciences'
  Pluto Press, 2001.
  ISBN 1-86403-070-4
  more
  

• Khor, Martin: 'Rethinking Globalization. Critical Issues and Policy Choices'
  Zed Books, 2001.
  ISBN 1-84277-054-3 Hardback
  ISBN 1-84277-055-1 Paperback
  

• Klein, Naomi: 'NO LOGO'
  Flamingo, 2000.
  ISBN 0-00-255919-6
  

• Korten, David C: 'When Corporations Rule the World'
  Earthscan Publications Ltd, 1995.
  ISBN 1-85383-434-3
  

• Korten, David C: 'The Post-Corporate World: Life After Capitalism'
  Kumarian Press and Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1999.
  ISBN 1-887208-03-8
  more
  

• Kumar, Satish: 'You Are, Therefore I Am. A Declaration of Dependence'
  Green Books 2002.
  ISBN 1 903998 18 2
  

• Lang, Tim/Hines, Colin: 'The New Protectionism'
  Earthscan Publications Ltd, 1993.
  ISBN 1-85383-165-4
  more
  

• Lietaer, Bernard: 'The Future of Money. Creating New Wealth, Work and a Wiser World.'
  Random Century, 2000.
  ISBN 0-7126-8399-2
  more
  

• Lovelock, James: 'Gaia. A New Look at Life on Earth'
  OXFORD University Press.
  Reissued with a new preface and corrections in 2000.
  ISBN 0-19-286218-9
  

• Mitchell, Stacy: 'The Home Town Advantage. How to Defend Your Main Street Against Chain Stores ... and Why it Matters.'
  Institute of Local Self Reliance.
  ISBN 0-917582-89-6
  

• Monbiot, George: 'Captive State. The Corporate Takeover of Britain'
  MacMillan Publishers Ltd, 2000.
  ISBN 0-333-90164-9
  

• Myers, Norman/Kent, Jennifer: 'Perverse Subsidies. Tax Undercutting Our Economies and Environments Alike'
  IISD, 1998.
  ISBN 1-895536-09-X
  more
  

• Nixon, Bruce: 'Global Forces. A guide for enlightened leaders - what companies and individuals can do'
  Management Books 2000.
  ISBN 1-85252-353-0
  more
  

• Norberg-Hodge, Helena: 'Ancient Futures. Learning from Ladakh'
  Rider, 1991.
  ISBN 0-7126-5231-0
  

• Norberg-Hodge, Helena/Goering, Peter/Page, John: 'From the Ground Up, Rethinking Industrial Agricolture'
  Zed Books, second (revised) edition, 2001.
  ISBN 1-85649-993-6 Hb
  ISBN 1-85649-994-4 Pb
  

• Palast, Greg: 'The Best Democracy Money Can Buy'
  Pluto Press 2002.
  ISBN 0 7453 1846
  www.gregpalast.com

• Robertson, James: 'Beyond the Dependancy Culture. People, Power and Responsibility'
  Adamantine Press Limited, 1998.
  more
  

• Robertson, James: 'Transforming Economic Life. A Millennium Challenge'
  A Schumacher Briefing published by Green Books on behalf of The Schumacher Society.
  

• Rowbotham, Michael: 'The Grip of Death. A Study of Modern Money, Debt Slavery and Destructive Economics'
  John Carpenter Publishing, 1998.
  more
  

• Rowbotham, Michael: 'Goodbye America! Globalisation, debt and the dollar empire'
  Jon Carpenter Publishing, 2000.
  ISBN 1-897766-56-4
  

• Schlosser, Eric: 'Fast Food Nation. What the All-American Meal is Doing to the World'
  Penguin Books, 2001.
  ISBN 0-713-99602-1
  more
  

• Simms, Andrew: 'An Environmental War Economy. The lessons of ecological debt and global warming.'
  NEF Pocketbook, 2001
  ISBN 1-899-407-391
  

• Singh, Kavaljit: 'Taming Global Financial Flows. A Citizen's Guide'
  Zed Books, 2000.
  ISBN 1-85649-783-6 hardback
  ISBN 1-85649-784-4 paperback
  more

• Smith, J.W.: 'The World's Wasted Wealth'
  The Institute for Economic Democracy, 1994
  ISBN 0-9624423-3-X
  

• Spowers, Rory: 'Rising Tides. A History of Environmental Revolution and Visions for an Ecological Age'
  Canongate Books 2002
  ISBN 1 84195 246 X